


Late-Night Reassurance

by oh_the_irohny



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Bromance, Gen, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25908232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oh_the_irohny/pseuds/oh_the_irohny
Summary: Sirius worries about the future. James is a Bro. (also posted on ffnet)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Late-Night Reassurance

James wakes up in the middle of the night, inexplicably, with shouted words he can't quite recall frozen mid-leap on the tip of his tongue. Confused thoughts run aimless circles around his mind, and his head lolls to the right, subconsciously searching for visual reassurance.

  
Sirius's bed is empty.

  
Suddenly aware, James sits back up. His friend's sheets are tangled into a knot more complicated than James could make if he tried, but James knows that means nothing. Sirius never made his bed anyway.

Quietly as he can, James extricates himself from his own jumble of sheets, tiptoes down the stairs, and immediately breathes a sigh of relief. Just as he had thought he would -- hoped, more like, but he pretends otherwise -- he finds Sirius in the common room. Sirius is perched on one of the common room's overstuffed couches, still dressed in day clothes, staring vacantly into the subdued fire as if it were a portal through time and space.

"Hey," says James softly, more to announce his presence than anything else. He knows Sirius doesn't care much for surprises these days.

Sirius jumps slightly in response, but quickly covers it by leaning back into the couch. "Hey, mate. What's up?"

James moves to sit by him. "Trouble sleeping, or...?"

"Nah, just... felt like getting away for a bit. You?"

"Well, I woke up in the middle of the night to see my best mate's bed empty, so naturally I assumed you had gone off on some hilarious adventure without me." He nudges Sirius good-naturedly. "So I decided to go find you. Couldn't let you have _all_ the fun."

Sirius laughs softly. "Sorry, no adventures here. I'll tell you what, though -- next time I have one, I might just let you tag along if you're _really_ nice to me."

James snorts. "How could I not be nice to you, Padfoot? What with your ever-so-charming personality."

"My thoughts exactly, Prongsy. And yet, despite my extensive merits, some people have the gall to dislike me. Imagine that!"

"Absolute madmen," sighs James, shaking his head with mock sincerity. "Belong in Azkaban, the lot of them."

"Sure do." Sirius smiles slightly, then turns away and resumes his vacant staring. James watches his friend out of the corner of his eye with more than a little concern. The dim, flickering firelight plays over Sirius's angular features, emphasizing the bags under his eyes and making him look a thousand years more aged. His usually-lively grey eyes flash a dull amber color in the warm glow.

Sirius's voice breaks through his analysis. "Are you going to say something, or are you going to continue to sit there staring at me like an idiot?"

James pauses for a split second, embarrassed at being caught, then laughs lightly. "I never could pull the wool over your eyes for very long, huh?"

Sirius hums in smug agreement. "Never were one for subtlety either."

There's a brief pause, full of comfortable familiarity but tinged with uncertainty. James clears his throat. "So... what were you thinking about?"

Sirius doesn't answer for a few moments, and James wonders whether or not he heard him. Then Sirius sighs softly. "Just... the future." A lighthearted joke forms on James's lips and makes it halfway up his throat before something stops him, telling him that this is not the time. Sirius takes a breath, then haltingly continues.

"I... I was, well... I mean, we graduate this year. And things are getting... well, you know." He turns. There's a tension in his face and a furrow between his brows that James isn't used to seeing. "I just... wonder what's coming. Where will we find ourselves when school's over? What... what comes next, James?"

James feels very out of his depth. It's not easy to give reassurance to the person who knows you best when you find yourself walking along the same mental roads late at night. Then he squares his shoulders and pulls his classic easygoing, over-confidant smirk back onto his face. "I'll tell you what comes next. We are going to graduate. I am going to marry Lily Evans. You and I will personally take on the world and make it ours, just like we always knew we would." He playfully hits Sirius on the shoulder. "And if the Dark Lord comes knocking, we'll just have to knock him right back!"

Sirius smiles at his friend's antics, but his eyes remain dark and troubled. "You think?"

"Come on, mate. You know I never think."

"Believe me, I _do_ know that."

They're laughing again and things seem almost normal, but James doesn't miss the tension in the set of Sirius's shoulders or the way he keeps glancing back at the fire.

"Hey," says James, in what he hopes is a reassuring tone. "We'll make it. We've gotten this far, haven't we? And we still haven't met an obstacle that was even close to a match for the legendary Marauders. We'll be all right."

Sirius turns away and for a moment James is afraid he said the wrong thing, but then he hears Sirius repeat "We'll be all right" under his breath and suddenly the words that James himself had doubts about feel like the gospel truth.

  
Sirius turns back to him, a half-smile on his face and, to James's delight and relief, a renewed spark in his eyes. "Bed now, Prongs? Even legendary Marauders need their sleep."

  
James feels his own face splitting into a grin. "Damn right, Padfoot."

And with that, the two best friends make their way up the stairs, each feeling light, carefree, and ready to make the world theirs.


End file.
